How?: The increase in November basketball tournaments (or in some cases a round-robin format) is basically a good thing if you want to see some good matchups. Teams that wouldn't ordinarily play because they wouldn't agree to play a road game meet on neutral courts. That's why a really-good but overlooked Portland team can get UCLA on a neutral court and pull off an upset. The how is different. How are these games supported? How is anyone making money? The stands are empty, in DisneyWorld, in Anaheim, in Cancun, in the Virgin Islands. I'm told that sponsorships are the life-blood of these games. Let's hope that keeps working because it's great to see the games on TV but no one -- OK, just a few people -- are there in person.

Speaking of Portland: The Pilots' 74-47 victory was UCLA's worst defeat since the Bruins lost to Oregon 79-48 in March, 2003. Portland has made 53.7 percent of its three-pointers this season, hitting 11 of 19 against UCLA. Portland will face Minnesota in the second round.

Speaking of the Gophers: Minnesota was a decisive winner over Butler 82-73. The Gophers had the look of a well-coached, tough-minded team. They get Portland Friday night in the second round.

It's cold up North: For 19th-ranked Oklahoma, which has lost to San Diego and Houston in the Great Alaska Shootout. The Shootout only has six teams so the format was changed to a pool competition. The championship game will be between the winners of each pool. It will be Washington State vs. the winner of the San Diego-Houston game on Saturday night unless Washington State doesn't beat winless Nichols State.

The Fightin' McGuires: Marquette was supposed to be in a transition year but the Als are 5-0. As usual, most of Marquette's early-season games have been home games vs. cupcakes but, and this is why we like these November tournament, they played Xavier in DisneyWorld and prevailed 71-61. This is a team that might be better than first thought.

My viewing habits: Florida has lost a lot of luster with two straight NIT bids and when I started the Tivo rolling last night, I expected Florida State to take care of business even if the game was in Gainesville. Boy, was I wrong. The Gators ran them off the court 68-52. Hard to believe but Florida is a little bit undersized and the big guys like to play facing the basket. Florida State is huge and had a distinct advantage inside but the Seminoles may have ball-handling issue, they couldn't handle the Florida press and then had difficulty getting the ball inside against a zone. The homecourt obviously help too. Florida will have to be monitored because the reliance on the perimeter game could make them inconsistent but they do have a bunch of talented offensive players and outside shooters.

The good MEAC team: Morgan State upset Arkansas 97-94 but it should be mentioned that Arkansas is missing five players who were suspended in the wake of rape allegations and reaction to those allegations. Morgan is coached by Todd Bozeman, who was banned from coaching for five years by the NCAA after it was discovered he had paid players at Cal. He's in his third year at Morgan and his team is 4-1 (after going 22-11 last season and winning the MEAC championship). The Bears lost by only nine at Louisville and have also beaten Albany on the road, UMBC, and East Tennessee. The Albany victory was the first opening-game victory for Morgan since 1988. MEAC and SWAC teams, the traditionally black colleges, play an inordinate amount of road games, usually getting guarantees and then losing big. Morgan has a few of those, like Arkansas and Minnesota also on the schedule, but Bozeman has basically put together a reasonable schedule and a team that's probably going to win a lot of games. Arkansas had won 45 straight home games against non-conference opponents.

Ballin' in the OC: Fullerton State followed up their upset of UCLA at Pauley Pavilion by beating New Mexico State 84-73. This was a home game and the third straight win for the Titans.

BC fans note: Ex-Eagle Samari Spears had 26 to lead Charlotte over Hofstra in New York. The 49ers are 4-1 with their only loss at Duke and Spears is averaging 24.3 points per game.

Lack of info: West Virginia coach Bob Huggins has benched star forward Kevin Ebanks but won't say why. Not even violated team rules.

Coach Cal is upset: Looks like he's finally cracking down on his all-star team which won in Cancun last night.

Surprising scores, amazing margins:
BYU 107, Southern 51: See above Morgan State item as a point of reference.
Providence 106, Vermont 64: What a beating! And Vermont was coming off a victory over Rutgers.
Indiana State 64, Western Kentucky 63: The Hilltoppers have a notoriously tough home-court advantage that didn't help them Tuesday night.
Duquesne 75, Arkansas Monticello 72 in overtime: Whew! What a bad loss this would have been. The game, part of the O'Reilly Auto Parts tournament, was played on a neutral court in Cullowhee, N.C.
Seattle 77, Utah 74: This was in Salt Lake City and establishes Seattle as a real team. The is Seattle's second season back in Division after the school de-emphasized the sports in the 70s.
Utah State 77, Idaho State 44: Finally, the Aggies played a home game and it must have felt good.
Montana 68, Oregon 55: Montana is 4-0 but this game was in Eugene.
Clemson 102, Winthrop 66: The Big South dynasty of Winthrop is officially over. Clemson has won five games by an average of 37.8.
Eastern Kentucky 68, FDU 39: Wouldn't think there would be that much difference between these two teams.
Army 56, Harvard 53: Thought the Crimson would win that one after winning the first three.

Sarina Mathai of the Globe's sports staff sifted through the record books to come up with this look at Northeastern football through the years. The school on Monday announced it was dropping football.

Northeastern football highlights
Record: Since 1933, Northeastern's is 289-364-17.

Largest margin of victory: 72 (defeated Stonehill 78-6 on Aug. 30, 2003

Largest losing margin: 77 (lost to UMass 77-0 on Oct. 9, 19999

Notable moments
2007: Maurice Murray rushed a school-record 55 times for 206 yards in a 31-13 win over New Hampshire.

2002: Huskies set team record for wins and conference wins (10-3, 7-2 Atlantic-10) and placed 10 players in the All-Atlantic 10 team that year. They won the Atlantic-10 title and advanced to the NCAA playoffs for the first time with Tyler Grogan, son of Patriot legend Steve Grogan, as their star receiver/punter. Lost to Fordham 29-24 in first round of NCAA playoffs.

2002: Don Brown won Coach of the Year honors from the Atlantic-10, the New England Football Writers and the AFCA (Region I).

1997: “Murphy's Miracle” came on quarterback Jim Murphy’s 41-yard pass to freshman Dave Klemic as time expired to defeat Maine, 23-17. The Black Bears had tied the game at 17 with a 32-yard field goal with 1:06 remaining.

1994: Won first-ever overtime game against fifth-ranked James Madison, which came into the game on a seven-game win streak. The Huskies won 9-6 on a 47-yard field goal.

1963: Coach Joe Zabilski led Northeastern to an 8-0 record and the Huskies played in the Eastern Bowl in Allentown, Pa., where they lost to East Carolina 27-6. Zabilski coached from1948 to 1971.

1951: Was one point away from true perfection, but a 13-13 tie against Coast Guard left Northeastern 6-0-1. Outscored opponents 194-60 that year.

1935: Went undefeated in only third season with a 5-0-3 record under coach Alfred McCoy. In its first three years of play, Northeastern went 12-4-5.

Career leaders
Passing yards: Jim Murphy (1997) 2,823 yards, 372 attempts, 220 completions.
Touchdown passes: 22, Fred Vallett (1998)
Rushing yards: L.J. McKanas (2001) 1,756 yards, 342 attempts.
Rushing touchdowns: 14, Maurice Murray, 2007; Tim Gale, 2002; L.J. McKanas 2001
Scoring: 96 points, Tim Gale (2002) and Dave Klemic (1998)
Total touchdowns: 16, Tim Gale

Notable players
Dan Ross: Played in the NFL for eight seasons (1979-1986), the first six with the Cincinnati Bengals. He caught 11 passes for the Bengals in Super Bowl XVI. In 1982, he earned a trip to the Pro Bowl.

Sean Jones: Played in the NFL for 13 seasons (1984-1996). He is ranked 15th in the NFL All-Time sacks list with 113 and he was a part of the Green Bay Packers team that defeated the Patriots the Super Bowl.

Keith Willis: 11 NFL seasons, 1982-1993. First nine seasons with Pittsburgh; ranked 83rd on all time sack list with 59.

Bob Cappadona: Drafted by the Boston Patriots. Was Patriots’ rookie of the year in 1966.

Darin Jordan: Played with the 49ers when they won Super Bowl XXIX in 1995

In the end, it was about the money.

Not so much about how much was being spent year after year as Northeastern produced season after season of occasionally successful football teams.

But how much it would take over a sustained period of time to upgrade the Huskies' facilities to where they could compete in the fast lane of Football Championship Division football.

And in the end, Northeastern athletic director Peter Roby decided the risk-reward factor was too great in terms of the former to warrant continuing a program which began in 1933 and now has come to an end with Sunday's announcement that Northeastern was discontinuing football.

When you discard the emotions -- and there were plenty of those today -- it came down to a matter of facilties. Or a lack of them.

Roby felt that Parsons Field -- which has been the home for Huskies football for 76 years -- did not measure up to the standards of the other teams in the highly competitive Colonial Athletic Conference. And he felt that they met the minimum standards to compete on an equal basis with teams that have routinely competed for the FCS national championship over the last several years.

What was good in 2002 and 2003, the last two seasons in which Northeastern posted a winning record, no longer worked today.

"It's not about what we're currently doing,'' said Roby at a press conference at Matthews Arena on Monday morning. "It's what we need to do to go forward. It's going to require multiple millions of dollars on an ongoing basis for us to go forward and be successful.''

Roby said that he was not comfortable making a recommendation to continue football -- which had running on a deficit of $2 million-$3 million per year for several years -- without some promise of long-term success. "I didn't feel comfortable making that recommendation,'' he said.

While Roby was explaining the reasons for the decision inside Matthews Arena, a few Northeastern players stood outside wondering how much more the world around them would come crashing down as they absorbed the announcement that the school had decided to discontinue the football program.

"We had a meeting yesterday at 12 p.m., and the coach [Rocky Hager] informed us he was being fired,'' said senior offensive lineman Matt Alain. "But as far as the program being dropped, I don't think he knew until half an hour before Peter Roby met with us. He was blindsided."

So were the players, who had heard doubts about the future of the program last year, but had heard none this season until the last few days. When Roby told the players, the reaction was shock and disbelief.

"And a sense of betrayal,'' said junior tight end Connor Gilmartin-Donahue, who must now decide if he wants to transfer to another school to play one more year of football. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Who is going to take a player with only one year left?"

Roby acknowledged the difficulty of trying to defend the decision to those directly involved.

"The reaction was what you would expect to that kind of news,'' said Roby. "A lot of emotion, all of it appropriate and understandable.''

What the players had a tougher time accepting was the way the news was delivered. As late as last week, Northeastern officials had come to them, asking their parents an friends to donate money to help the program. "They sent out the letter last Wednesday,'' said Gilmartin-Donohue, who is from White Plains, N..Y.

Roby tried to explain the thought process.

"The University has made a tremendous investment in our athletic programs the last two years,'' said Roby. "The one area we haven't seen an improvement in terms of the level of excellence (Northeastern was 3-8 this season) was in football.

"As we got to the end of the season it was apparent to me that the status quo was not an option, that change was in order for us to change the fortunes of the football program. As I continued the process of continued evaluation of what it was going to take (to achieve success), it became clear to me that the level of investment was not something I was comfortable recommending to the senior administration. So I made the recommendation that we discontinue the program.''

Roby was asked if doing something as simple as simply firing the head coach -- which he did earlier Sunday -- could cure the problem. But he argued that would only be a quick fix, if the facilities were not brought up to speed with the other schools in the CAA.

He was asked if downgrading to non-scholarship levels would help. "

"We considered what options we had,'' he said. "But non-scholarship doesn't mean non-talent.''

The reaction from the CAA -- which must now adjust its schedules with one fewer team -- was guarded.

"Right now the issue that is staring us in the face is the 2010 schedule,'' said CAA commissioner Tom Yeagher in a conference call today. "We have eight institutions that have lost a conference game. We need to reschedule and we need to do it with preexisting dates that are set like homecoming. It will be complex, but it will be doable.''

Roby said that he pondered what could be done to save Northeastern football for several weeks. It came down to a long-term money issue.

"It requires a lot of money to improve those things we need to improve to compete,'' he said. "Parsons Field is not appropriate for the level we are trying to play and to continue to play without the appropriate amenities is not appropriate and I was not willing to recommend the kind of investment [we needed] to make that happen.''

The details still remain fresh in our minds after all these years.

The mighty University of Miami leads Boston College, 45-41 . . . six seconds left . . . Eagles' ball at the Miami 47 . . . one last shot at the end zone . . . one last shot at a permanent place in football lore . . . quarterback Doug Flutie takes the snap . . . feeling the rush, led by Hurricanes All-American Jerome Brown, he rolls right and lets it fly . . . three Eagles receivers wait in the end zone, a play known as "Flood Tip" . . . the pass soars over the fingertips of a pair of Miami defensive backs, and then, improbably, miraculously if you prefer . . .. there's receiver Gerard Phelan, in the back of the end zone, falling to the ground and clutching the ball . . . Boston College 47, Miami 41 . . . and with that, a college football legend is born.

Yes, the details remain fresh -- but it's hard to believe Flutie's Hail Mary pass, forever known as "The Miracle in Miami," happened 25 years ago today. Now, as in then, it seemed the appropriate ending -- though they may disagree in Miami -- to a game that was back-and-forth and relentlessly entertaining.

The teams combined for 1,273 yards of total offense. Miami star quarterback Bernie Kosar threw for 447. But he was surpassed by Flutie, who threw for 472 yards that afternoon en route to winning the Heisman Trophy in 1984.

His star-making performance and the BC victory was an instant classic to be sure, and it remains the defining moment of Flutie's football career. But we know around here -- drop kick, anyone? -- it wasn't his only highlight.

So here, on the anniversary of a football miracle, is a look back at Flutie's career, 25 years after he first made his name.

Northeastern's schedule: Bill Coen has put together an interesting schedule this season. His team started with Siena and Utah State and got a split, which is outstanding. "In the past we've played the high majors,'' said Coen. "This year is more like a bracket-buster special, Siena, Utah State, Wright State, and Saint Mary's out in California. Plus we play Providence, BU, and Rhode Island, the traditional local opponents. I think on bracket buster selection day those are the teams that pop up year in and year out. as the elite mid-major competition.''

Janning's body: "People are saying he finally looks like a freshman,'' said Coen about his star senior guard. Janning is still lanky but he's gained almost 40 pounds since his freshman year and is now 6-4, 195 and pretty solid looking. Against Utah State Coen ran a backdoor dunk for Janning who was high above the rim for a spectacular dunk. When the play was mentioned in the post-game press conference, Coen, Janning and his teammate Chaison Allen could only just smile. " We've run it a few times,'' said Coen.

More scheduling: After losing to Northeastern Saturday, Utah State coach Stew Morrill thought out loud: "I wonder how many teams in the RPI top 150 opened the season with three road games?'' Morrill did, beating Weber State but losing to Utah and Northeastern. We'll do some research and let you know.

LaceDarius Dunn report: Playing only 23 minutes in Baylor's 106-45 victory over Hardin-Simmons, our guy hit 10 of 15 shots including 7 of 11 three-pointers for 27 points. He even had three assists.

Five Rising:
Miami: The Hurricanes established themselves as a surprise team by winning the Charleston Classic including a championship game victory over South Carolina.
North Carolina State: The Wolfpack, predicted to be at the bottom of the ACC, have won their first four.
Portland: The Pilots are 3-0 after beating Oregon Saturday night.
Syracuse: How's that loss to Division 2 LeMoyne look now after the Orange beat Cal and North Carolina on back-to-back nights?
Texas Tech: Pat Knight's team is 5-0, all home games but against some decent opponents. Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Oregon State and Northwestern State were three of the victories.

Five falling:
Davidson: Without Stephen Curry, the Wildcats have started 0-4.
Dayton: The ranked Flyers returned from Puerto Rico 1-2 after losing to Villanova and Kansas State.
Oklahoma: Jeff Capel brought his team to Richmond, Va. to play Virginia Commonwealth this past weekend. The game was scheduled as part of his departure from VCU and then the Rams beat him and the Sooners 82-69. The Sooners are now 1-2. Blake Griffin, come back.
Oregon State: President Obama's brother-in-law, Craig Robinson, was supposed have an improved team this season. The Beavers are 1-3 after losing to Sacramento State Saturday.
Rutgers: Fred Hill came to Piscataway from Villanova with a reputation as a big-time recruiter. Things have not worked as evidenced by the Knights' loss to Vermont yesterday.

This Week's George Mason: Butler, of course, but the Bulldogs struggled against Evansville Saturday night.

This Week's Final Four: Kansas, West Virginia, Purdue, North Carolina.

This Week's national champion: Kansas.

Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan says Yale coach Tom Williams made a crucial error that will be how the 126th Yale-Harvard football game is remembered.

Harvard quarterback Collier Winters threw two touchdown passes in the final seven minutes of the 126th Yale-Harvard game that rallied the Crimson to a 14-10 victory at the Yale Bowl in New Haven.

Afterward, he spoke about Harvard's passing game.

Harvard coach Tim Murphy talked about how the 126th Yale-Harvard game played out after the Crimson defeated the Bulldogs 14-10, rallying from a 10-0 deficit on two fourth-quarter touchdown passes by Collier Winters.

The Northeastern Huskies pulled off a nice victory by beating Utah State 64-61 at Matthews Arena this afternoon. Northeastern looked like it was going to get blown out of its own gym in the first seven minutes as Utah State sprang out to a 19-4 lead, mostly by scoring inside at will. Northeastern finally settled down, then proceeded to slowly work its way back into the game.

It took a long time, however. There was 10:46 left when Manny Adako hit a short turnaround jumper to give Northeastern a 44-44 tie, its first of the game. Then it was a fight to the finish.

With the score tied at 58, Baptiste Bataille got fouled driving toward the basket and made both free throws with 36 seconds left. Utah State went inside to its best big man, Taj Wesley, but Wesley, even though he was guarded by one defender, tried to pass the ball back out to guard Jared Quayle..Northeastern's Chaison Allen leaped high in the air and intercepted it. He was fouled and made both free throws with 10 seconds left and Northeastern led by four. They would hang on for the win.

A pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes by Harvard quarterback Collier Winters allowed the Crimson to rally for a 14-10 victory over Yale Saturday at the Yale Bowl.

Winters hit Matt Luft for a 41-yard strike with 6:46 left in the game, then connected with Chris Lorditch on a 32-yard play with 1:32 left.

"We got outplayed and outcoached in the first half, no question about it, they did a great job," said Harvard coach Tim Murphy. "We made some adjustments at halftime, did a little bit of a character check, and obviously just very, very proud of our kids. The resilience they showed ... in the end it's all about never give up and that's the type of kid we recruit."

Yale coach Tom Williams decided to try a reverse from punt formation on fourth-and-22 with 2:30 remaining, but John Powers was stopped short of the first down, setting up Harvard's game-winning drive. Winters moved Harvard 42 yards in three plays.

On the next Yale possession, Harvard's John Takamura intercepted Yale's Patrick Witt with 51 seconds to play to seal the victory.

Yale dominated for three quarters, taking a 10-0 lead in the first quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Alex Barnes and a 3-yard touchdown run by Rodney Reynolds.

But Harvard came back in the fourth, aided by a key fourth-down run by Gino Gordon that kept the drive that led to Luft's touchdown alive. Gordon scrambled on fourth-and-4 for 19 yards that brought Harvard to the Yale 49. Winters then hit Adam Chirssis for 10 yards before connecting with Luft on the touchdown pass.

Yale's Alex Thomas carried 26 times for 124 yards.

Winters was 19-for-26 for 211 yards. Gordon carried 14 times for 86 yards for Harvard, which finished the season 7-3. It was the third straight victory for Harvard over Yale, although Yale leads the all-time series 62-53-8. It was the 126th time the two rivals have played.

Yale is 4-6.

The game matched the Ivy League's top scoring offense -- Harvard averaged 26.4 points per game -- against its second-best scoring defense. Yale entered the game allowing 16.9 points per game.

Recap of key plays

4th Qtr :51 Harvard 14-10 Yale's Patrick Witt is intercepted by John Takamura at the Harvard 40 and Harvard can run out most of the clock.

4th Qtr 1:32 Harvard 14-10 Chris Lorditch catches a 32-yard strike for a touchdown and Harvard takes its first lead of the game. The first PAT attempt is botched, but an offside penalty gives Harvard another shot and this one's is good.

The drive is only 3 plays, covering 42 yards and 52 seconds.

4th Qtr 2:25 Yale 10-7 Yale fakes the punt, but John Powers can't get the distance and Harvard takes over at the Yale 40.

4th Qtr Yale 10-7 Yale's Alex Thomas is stopped for no gain and Yale is forced to punt from its own 25.

4th Qtr 3:14 Yale 10-7 Harvard uses its final timeout to prep for a huge third-and-22 play after sacking Yale QB Patrick Witt.

4th Qtr 6:46 Yale 10-7 Harvard's Collier Winters finally hooks up on a long pass and hits Matt Luft for a 41-yard touchdown strike over the middle as Harvard makes things interesting. Luft had a step on the defense and caught the ball a few yards from the end zone.

The drive was 6 plays and 76 yards.

4th Qtr 7:42 Yale 10-0 Harvard's Gino Gordon picks up a crucial first down on fourth-and-4. Harvard's at its own 44.

4th Qtr 8:36 Yale 10-0 Harvard will start at its own 24 after Yale forced to punt, but time's starting to grow short. If Harvard is going to make a move, it has to come soon.

4th Qtr 11:17 Yale 10-0 Harvard QB Collier Winters can't connect on third-and-14 from the 16, and Harvard punts. Yale takes over on its own 46.

4th Qtr 12:40 Yale 10-0Yale's Alex Barnes is wide right on a 27-yard field goal attempt and Harvard takes over on the 20 yard line.

4th Qtr 14:56 Yale 10-0 Rodney Reynolds gets the yard - the officials had to measure - and Yale's drive continues.

4th Qtr 15:00 Yale 10-0Yale will have fourth-and-1 at the Harvard 25. Yale's Alex Thomas has 19 carries for 100 yards through three quarters, and the Yale fans can smell an upset at the Yale Bowl.

3rd Qtr 1:54Yale 10-0 Yale is using its own version of the Wildcat offense, with Rodney Reynolds taking direct snaps, and a conventional play with Alex Thomas running off tackle left has Yale with first-and-10 at the 48.

3rd Qtr 3:35 Yale 10-0 Harvard punts and Yale takes over at its own 39.

3rd Qtr 5:12 Yale 10-0 Yale is forced to punt, and Harvard begins at its own 36.

3rd Qtr 7:35 Yale 10-0 Harvard's Gino Gordon is stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the 1.

Harvard took the second-half kickoff and drove 79 yards, but failed to score. On third-and-goal, QB Collier Winters was stacked up and denied.

Halftime Yale 10-0 The key matchup in this game -- Harvard's Ivy League-leading offense (26.4 ppg) vs. Yale's second-ranked scoring defense (16.9) -- is being won by Yale.

Harvard QB Collier Winters has 108 yards passing, hitting 12 of 15 attempts, but the Harvard running game is being kept in check. Winters has 33 yards on 5 attemptsTreavor Scales has 6 carries for 24 yards and Gino Gordon has 3 for 23.

2nd Qtr :00 Yale 10-0 Yale's Tom Mante attempts a 62-yard field goal as time expires in the first half but comes up short. Momentum definitely on the Yale side.

2nd Qtr :12 Yale 10-0 Harvard forced to punt, and Yale is going to take a shot at scoring. Yale gets the ball at its own 34 .

2nd Qtr :54 Yale 10-0 This time on fourth-and-1, Yale fumbles and can't make the line after Yale's Shane Bannon recovers, so Harvard takes over at its own 28.

2nd Qtr 3:09 Yale 10-0 Yale converts on fourth-and-one to sustain a drive that began at its own 13. QB Patrick Witt kept the ball and ran right behind center, moving to the Yale 41.

2nd Qtr 6:39 Yale 10-0 Harvard's fake field goal play misfires as holder Matt Simpson's pass attempt is broken up by Yale's Larry Abare. Harvard had driven from its own 20 to Yale's 13 before being stopped on a third down run up the middle.

2nd Qtr 14:14 Yale 10-0 Harvard will have the ball at its own 20 after finally stopping Yale and forcing a punt.

1st Qtr Yale 10-0 00:27 Harvard QB Collier Winters' pass on fourth down is overthrown in the end zone and Yale takes over on downs.

1st Qtr Harvard's Gino Gordon dropped for a loss on the third down after catching a screen pass.

1st Qtr 1:17 Harvard has third-and-6 at the Yale 19. Harvard gained 46 yards on a pass from Collier Winters to Chris Lorditch.

1st Qtr 4:38 Can anything else go wrong for Harvard? Kick returner Marco Iannuzzi bobbled the kickoff and was brought down at the 4 after picking it up.

1st Qtr 4:43 Yale 10-0 Yale's Rodney Reynolds plunges in from the 3 on third-and-goal. Alex Thomas set up the touchdown with a 15-yard run from the 20 to the 5.

Yale's drive was 6 plays, 59 yards and used 2:27 on the clock.

1st Qtr 7:10: Harvard QB Collier Winters fumbled after taking off on a QB draw and Yale recovers at its own 41. After a successful opening drive and a quick gain on a pass from Yale QB Patrick Witt to Jordan Forney, the momentum appears to be on Yale's side.

1st Qtr 8:43 Yale 3-0 : Alex Barnes kicked a 26-yard field goal to put Yale on top after a lengthy game-opening drive that took more than 6 minutes off the clock.

Yale's drive was 13 plays and covered 61 yards. It was Barnes' fourth field goal of the season.

Coin flip: Harvard won the toss and deferred to the second half. Yale will receive.

Pregame: The 126th Yale-Harvard game is scheduled for a noon kickoff. The bands are wrapping up a pregame show and the coin flip is coming soon.

We'll have updates and postgame reaction throughout the afternoon.

The Game - Harvard at Yale for the 126th time - will begin at noon. We'll have live updates throughout in the College Sports Blog.

Some pregame notes:

-- Yale senior defensive back Larry Abare, an Acton-Boxboro High grad, was on the field wearing a huge wrap on his right arm. Abare broke his arm in Yale's Oct. 17 game at Lehigh, but was cleared to play today. He has 30 tackles - 19 unassisted - in six games for the Bulldogs this season.

In addition to Abare, whose brother, Bobby, was a Yale captain last year, Massachusetts players on the Yale roster include senior kicker/punter Tom Mante of Westford (Bishop Guertin High); freshman kicker/punter Philippe Panico of Boston (Buckingham Browne & Nichols); freshman quarterback Derek Russell of Newton (Newton South); and junior defensive lineman Joe Young of Shrewsbury (St. John's). Young and Mante are both listed as starters on the Yale depth chart.

-- Harvard has beaten Yale four straight years, but the Bulldogs still lead the all-time series 65-52-8.

-- Harvard kicker Patrick Long hit from 45 yards in pregame field goal warmups.

My viewing habits: I was looking forward to watching two teams that haven't gotten a lot of hype but I think could find their way into the field of 65, La Salle and South Carolina. La Salle played well for the first 10 minutes but then South Carolina dominated and won, 78-68. The Gamecocks showed some good inside play with Mike Holmes and Dominique Archie, which is a good sign for them. This was a chance for La Salle to pick up a nice victory and the Explorers came up short. Freshman center Aaric Murray had some nice moments and La Salle's going to need him to grow up quickly.

Weird game: Kentucky beat Sam Houston State, 102-92. I saw most of the final 10 minutes and Sam Houston dominated a Kentucky team that looked like coach John Calipari was just letting run and up down like it was a Sunday afternoon at the park. Did you see where Coach Cal said he was ecstatic that his team trailed Miami of Ohio by 18 points the other night? Far be it for me to say Cal can be disingenuous but is anybody buying that? Last night, he seemed upset on the sidelines but not after the game.

A pair of duds: Disappointing night if you were expected some intense basketball in a doubleheader at Madison Square Garden. Syracuse destroyed Cal, 95-73, which brings up the old West Coast softie issue; and North Carolina got out to a big lead and held on to beat Ohio State 77-73.

Meanwhile, in Puerto Rico: Villanova was lucky to get past George Mason, 69-68. The Wildcats will get better. Meanwhile Mason looks like a solid contender in the CAA. Dayton stamped itself as a legit Top 25 team by beating Georgia Tech, 63-59

Surprising scores, amazing margins:
Virginia 70, Rider 46: Virginia lost by 17 at South Florida; Rider had won at Mississippi State. What's real?

William & Mary 78, Richmond 71: Expectations are high at Richmond, this loss to a local rival has to be depressing. William & Mary lost to Harvard.

Kansas 94, Central Arkansas 44: The Jayhawks get their money's worth.

Seattle 85, Fresno State 84: It's the second year in a return to Division 1 for Seattle, Fresno has fallen pretty far. Maybe it's time to bring Tark back. Seattle honored Elgin Baylor, its all-time best player.

South Florida 65, Davidson 58: This was played in the Carolina Classic in Charleston. S.C. (surprisingly, Charleston is not in the tournament). South Florida is 3-0 (hello, there) including an easy win over Virginia. The Bulls might have something going on, we'll see tonight vs. South Carolina, however, there might be some issues. Davidson couldn't possibly be the same team without Stephen Curry.

UNC Wilmington 80, Penn State 69: The Nits always seem to do this to themselves. Wilmington was coming off losses to Appy St and George Washington.

San Diego State 86, Santa Clara 53: I would've have thought Santa Clara would be up a better fight. San Diego State was coming off an 80-58 loss to Saint Mary's.

Old Dominion 73, Liberty 41: Liberty was coming off a 79-39 loss to Clemson, so there was an improvement.

Mackenzy Bernadeau, the pride of Bentley University and Waltham High, will make his first start in the NFL tonight when the Carolina Panthers host the Miami Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium.

The 6-foot-4, 320-pound lineman, the third-to-last selection in the 2008 NFL draft (7th round, 250th pick), will get the call at left guard as Travelle Wharton shifts to tackle to replace the injured Jordan Gross (torn ACL).

"He was here all year last year. I thought he was a fine, young prospect," said Panthers coach John Fox earlier this week.

"The offensive line is a little bit like quarterback in that it takes a little bit of time to get used to all of the calls and schemes. He's been our lineman in waiting so to speak all season long and he would have been our first guy in on any injury. Unfortunately, we did have that injury, so he steps in. He's a guy we feel good about, and I know he's excited about playing this week."

Bernadeau, a Globe All-Scholastic at Waltham High, started the first 37 games of his Bentley career before suffering a knee injury his senior year. Despite missing the final four games of the season, he was still a repeat selection as the Northeast-10 Conference's Offensive Lineman of the Year. He was unable to play in any postseason all-star games, and was not invited to the NFL combine, but opened scouts' eyes at a pro day at Boston College.

"I had a guy (Carlton Haselrig) similar like that when we were in Pittsburgh. He didn't play college football; he was a wrestler that developed. He's (Bernadeau's) got good leverage; he's a good athlete; and he's a smart guy. Those are three good combinations. Our staff has done a good job with him, and he's done a good job of picking everything up and doing it at a high level."

Yes, it's rivalry week, but the rivalries that have tradition have little meaning this season in terms of impact on conference races. But if you had to pick and choose, the Pac-10 looks like the leader in the clubhouse, with upstart Oregon continuing its Run for the Roses.

Oregon at Arizona: The Ducks have only one conference loss, which puts them on top. Arizona can give them two, which would really complicate the matter, but Chip Kelly's guys look up to the task, which will take them to The Civil War vs. Oregon State in two weeks.
The pick: Oregon 34, Arizona 21

California at Stanford: It's THE Game, and Stanford has the game to beat Cal. Stanford can put away Notre Dame next week as well, which would be quite a year for the Cardinal, if it can beat Oregon, Cal, Southern Cal and the Irish in the same season
The pick: Stanford 38, California 31

Ohio State at Michigan: The Buckeyes clinched the Big 10 title last week. Now Terrelle Pryor and Company can ensure Michigan has its second consecutive losing season under Rich Rodriguez.
The pick: Ohio State 42, Michigan 14

Virginia at Clemson: Clemson needs to win this game to clinch ACC Atlantic Division crown Virginia needs this because . . . well, the Cavs need any win they can get. Not going to happen with C.J. Spiller running around. Sorry, Boston College.
The pick: Clemson 35, Virginia 10

North Carolina at Boston College: Carolina is playing as well as anyone in the ACC right now, other than possibly Georgia Tech. And with the Tar Heels' defense on a roll, that might be a tossup. BC has not lost a home game this season. They won't on Saturday, either, but it will be tough.
The pick: Boston College 17, Carolina 10

Last week: 4-1
Season to date: 35-20

My viewing habits: Utah and Utah State, the type of rivalry game I love to watch, tipped off at 6 p.m. Mountain Time and Utah's 15,000-seat arena was nearly empty. It filled in some, but it was quite a disappointment that more fans weren't interested. Utah lost its opener to Idaho, so maybe that kept people away. But the Utes rebounded last night. Utah State had control of the game but suddenly went cold in the second half and lost 68-67. This was the 222d game in the series, which Utah leads, 130-92. The best player on the floor was Utah State guard Jared Quayle, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds. He had a bad turnover late in the game, however, passing the ball forward across center court to a big man when he should have held onto the ball and moved to the center of the court. Utah State was missing starting guard Pooh Richardson and is probably the better team. The Aggies are on their way to Boston, where they play Northeastern Saturday at noon in Matthews Arena.

Another rivalry: UNLV beat Nevada 88-75 after trailing by 12. A big win for the Rebels, who are supposed to be in rebuilding mode since they lost one of my favorite players, Wink Adams.

The Minutemen: Derek Kellogg is truly in rebuilding mode and if you think of it in that context, the loss to Cornell Tuesday night is no embarrassment. The Big Red are experienced, smart, and pretty good. They'll be in the NCAA Tournament.

Life in the Bronx: Fordham beat Sacred Heart 76-66. That might not seem like a big deal but the Rams won only three games last season. This suggests some improvement. Freshman forward Chris Gaston had 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots. Sacred Heart's Corey Hassan, who started his career at BU, scored 33.

Surprising scores, amazing margins:
Hartford 75, Marist 38: This is Hartford's first win after two losses. What does that say about Marist?

Florida State 80, Stetson 38: The Seminoles held Stetson to 10 first-half points. Stetson coach Derek Waugh said it was "the longest 40 minutes of my life.''

Oral Roberts 83, Stanford 81: The game was in Palo Alto but was part of the Cancun Challenge. Oral had to play this one and then at Virginia Saturday before they get to go to Cancun. I know, it's strange, but if they get two wins on the road and stay at a nice all-inclusive resort, it'll be worth it.

Western Michigan 83, Virginia Commonwealth 67: The game was played in Kalamazoo, but I guess this is what happens when your coach, Anthony Grant, leaves (for Alabama) and one of your all-time great players, guard Eric Maynor, goes to the NBA.

My viewing habits: Didn't get to see an entire game last night but only pieces of several, the biggest chunk being the final seven minutes of the Duquesne-Iowa game. The Duke won 52-50 when All-Sully nominee Billy Clark made a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left. He's a gutty guy who's too small and too slow but gives ultimate effort. It was Duquesne's first victory over a Big 10 team since 1973. "Man, that's mind-boggling, to be honest," Clark said. "I didn't even know what to think when I was shooting it. I just had the team on my back, and I felt that I need to take the big shot to try and pull this victory off, make or miss." Iowa is 0-2 for the first time since 1970-71.

Other viewing: I also switched over at times to the New Mexico-New Mexico State game. This is a heated rivalry; you can see that by watching just five minutes and seeing the effort of the players and the reaction of the fans. New Mexico earned a huge win on State's homecourt, 97-87. The teams play again Dec. 5 in Albuquerque. How many in-state rivals who are not in the same conference play home-and-home every year? I'll need to do research but I know you won't be seeing that in the Big East. New Mexico State also plays home-and-home non-conference games with Texas-El Paso every year. the New Mexico State-UTEP rivalry flies under the radar but it's a good one.

The marathon: I didn't get to see much of ESPN's marathon, only a few minutes here and there. One thing that was interesting was that the fans seemed to come out for the early games at Saint Peter's and Niagara. Northeastern had a chance to get a big win at Siena but couldn't hold the lead. One things is clear, no one seems to be playing its best basketball right now. Things have been pretty sloppy.

Need to check him out: Brandon Paul of Illinois might be the first freshman to make a big impact. He's been the Illini's leading scorer the least two games.

Isiah wins: Isiah Thomas won his first game for Florida International last night as the Panthers beat Florida Memorial, 88-82. Just the opponent he needed.

Great story in USA Today on Villanova's Scottie Reynolds.

He's alive: Big things were expected when Eric Boateng transferred from Duke to Arizona State. He wasn't able to crack the starting lineup but now he's a senior and he had 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Sun Devils beat TCU 52-49.

Surprising scores, amazing margins:
Campbell 74, East Carolina 68: The Pirates can't afford losing this type of game if they want to be a legit team.

Louisville 96, Arkansas 66: What a wipeout -- even if Arkansas was missing five suspended players.

Tennessee 142, UNC Asheville 49: Oh my. This was a school record for Tennessee for points scored but, on the other hand, Asheville didn't record a field goal until 3:18 remained in the first half.

St. John's 69, St. Bonaventure 68: Bonnie are improved but what's this say about the Redmen?

My viewing habits: Over the weekend, I took in the Notre Dame home opener against North Florida at the Irish's refurbished arena. On TV you won't notice a different but the regulars really like the new look. Bleacher seating has been eliminated and a lot of dark blue colors make it seem more intimate. The surprised for the Irish was Ben Hansbrough, Tyler's little brother. He's a guard, unlike his taller brother, but he's a dangerous three-point shooter with an unselfish game. He's going to really help ND. Luke Harangody looks like his usual steady, workman-like self but I didn't notice anything new from him. Sometimes player amp it up for senior year with a new wrinkle.

Tales of Isiah: Will Isiah Thomas make it to the end of the season as Florida International's coach? Isiah's squad lost to Tulsa 81-49 over the weekend, and with just under nine minutes left the second half, Tulsa held a 63-25 lead. Thomas asked Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik to take his starters out. Shouted at him according to the AP story. "It's a 40-minute game,'' said Wojcik. "I've never seen anything like it. It was very bizarre.''

Fire when ready or whenever: Our favorite chucker LaceDarius Dunn of Baylor took 27 shots (and made 11) and scored 29 points in the Bears' two-point win over Hartford. He was 6 of 16 on threes. In Baylor's opener, he was more economical, taking only 16 shots but producing 32 points. He's my early favorite to lead the nation in scoring although he really geared it back in Monday's win over Southern with just 13 points. I'm sure he'll make up for it.

This can't be good: Iowa lost its home opener to Texas San Antonio 62-50. The Hawkeyes had won 46 straight home openers and 32 straight openers. It's gone to be a long, cold winter in Iowa City.

The Big Red: The Ivy League race is over. Cornell opened with a victory over Alabama in Tuscaloosa. A friend of mine who likes to place an occasional wager loves to play Cornell. Harvard is now 2-0 after beating William and Mary in triple OT Saturday. Jeff Goodman of Foxsports has been predicting an Ivy title for Harvard ... in four years. Maybe it could happen sooner but not this year. Cornell appears too strong.

My guy: Herb Pope had 17 rebounds as Seton Hall (2-0) beat Monmouth. Coach Bobby Gonzalez biggest challenge will be incorporating Jeremy Hazell into a team concept. He was five for 14 on three-pointers in the same game.

The Friars: Providence is 3-0 but according to the astute Kevin McNamara in the Providence Journal it's a soft 3-0.

Scheduling change: The Rainbow Classic in Honolulu used to be one of the top Christmas tournaments with eight-team fields that often including Final Four contenders. Now, it's a November round-robin competition. Northern Colorado was the one team to win all three of its games including a victory over Hawaii Tuesday morning Eastern time which was part of ESPN's 24-hour marathon. The Diamond Head Classic will be played in the Rainbow Classic's old spot but even that's wrong because it's scheduled for Dec. 22-25 instead of post Christmas. Northeastern is playing Saint Mary's in the first round.

This changes everything: For Northwestern. The Wildcats, who had a chance to make a major step up this season, lost leading scorer Kevin Coble for the season because of a broken foot.

Surprising results, amazing margins:
Kentucky 72, Miami of Ohio 70: Miami was coming off a loss to Towson but it took a court-length drive and 15-foot jumper by hyped freshman John Wall to win the game for the Wildcats, who trailed by 18 at one point.
Richmond 103, VMI 59: VMI led the nation in scoring last season at 93.8 points per game, Richmond averaging 69.9. That's enough to call this result strange.
South Florida 66, Virginia 49: I can see this happening in football but Virginia is still in the ACC, correct?
Fullerton State 68, UCLA 65: This was double overtime but it looks like Ben Howland has some work to do. He's lost a lot of underclassmen to the NBA in the last few years.

Yale University has installed a new system for parking at Yale Bowl for Saturday's Harvard-Yale football game that aims to alleviate some of the massive traffic tieups that have plagued the event in the past, according to a report in today's New Haven Register.

However, it also requires planning ahead. There will be no general admission parking. People intending to park near the Yale Bowl must have prepaid parking vouchers ($15) and also hold at least two tickets to the game.

All others will be directed to downtown garages, where free shuttles will take fans to the stadium. According to the Register, Yale has more than doubled the free shuttle buses from campus, and the city has arranged for $3 all-day parking at the Temple and Crown street garages, which will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The game begins at noon.

By Peter Abraham
Globe Staff

Boston College has suspended two returning starters -- junior forward Corey Raji, and junior swingman Rakim Sanders -- for the first two games of the season along with junior backup Cortney Dunn. The three were disciplined for "violation of team rules" according to a release put today this afternoon before the season opener against Dartmouth.

Coach Al Skinner will not be made available to the media until after the game, which starts at 7 p.m. The suspensions leave the Eagles with only eight scholarship players.

The trio also will miss Tuesday's game against St. Francis of New York before returning next Friday to face St. Joseph at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.

Sanders and Raji are being counted on to play crucial roles for the Eagles this season. Sanders, a 6-foot-5-inch junior swingman, averaged 12.9 points per game last season. Raji, a 6-6 junior forward, averaged 9.9 points and 6.1 rebounds last season.

Dunn, a 6-8 junior forward, averaged 0.9 points per game last year.

The story was first reported by FoxSports.com's Jeff Goodman.